The Belgium Police have compiled a 35-page report detailing the rapid increase in the use of anabolic steroids in the country. The Police have responded by creating a special “Hormones Unit” to cope with the increased supply and demand of anabolic steroids.
The report alleged that anabolic steroids have been killing Belgium athletes have noted the “first cases of deaths” attributed to steroid use. The coordinator of the special “Hormones Unit” identified anabolic steroids as the king of all performance-enhancing drugs citing 2009 as the year in which steroids became the most popular PED. This may come as a surprise to people who thought that steroids, the drug that is generally considered the prototypical PED, have always been the most popular PED.
The report by Belgian Police also echoed the unsubstantiated claim by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that anabolic steroid distribution is more profitable than other types of drug trafficking.
Bodybuilding and cycling are two of the sports cited as having a particular problem with anabolic steroids. The sport of cycling was used as an example of the problem of steroid distribution in Belgium. An amateur cyclist who failed a doping test had his home and vehicle searched by Flemish police. They discovered huge quantities of anabolic steroids.
The first story involved a non-identified young amateur rider whose vehicle and home were searched by Flemish police after a positive anti-doping test. The list of the drugs seized included 2271 ampoules of the combined testosterone drug Sustanon, 785 ampoules of Deca-durabolin (Nandrolone), 112 ampoules of Egyptian testosterone Cidoteston, nine boxes of the steroid Equigan and several insulin syringes. It was discovered that a vet had provided Clenbuterol to the young rider, who was also found with anti-depressants and sleeping pills.
The “war on steroids” is following in the footsteps of the larger “war on drugs” started by former United States President Richard Nixon forty years ago.
In spite of overwhelming evidence that the drug prohibition policy has been a massive failure, a reinvigorated prohibition policy involving performance-enhancing drugs has sprouted in its image. Much like the U.S. war on drugs became the de facto policy for many countries in the world, the internationalization of steroid law enforcement has proceeded at a rapid rate in recent years.
About Millard Baker